Kings re-sign Monarchs All-Star Hickey, three others

The Stanley Cup champion Kings re-signed four members of their
AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, on Tuesday.

Thomas Hickey hopes to make the jump to
the NHL next year after his best season yet in Manchester. (Getty
Images)

Atop the list of returning players is Thomas
Hickey. The 23-year-old blueliner set a career-high with
26 points in 2011-12 and led Manchester with a plus-16 rating.
Hickey skated in all 76 regular-season contests and was named to
his first AHL All-Star team.

An alternate captain in Manchester for the second consecutive
season, Hickey was selected fourth overall by Los Angeles in the
2007 NHL Draft. He turned pro in 2009 after captaining Team Canada
to a gold medal at the 2009 World Juniors.

In 179 AHL games, the 5-foot-11 defenseman has 63 points and a
plus-20 rating. The former WHL standout has yet to make his NHL
debut.

Stefan Legein will also return after spending
his first season in Manchester in 2011-12, during which he had 14
goals and 11 assists in 63 games. The 37th overall pick
by Columbus in 2007 also tallied twice in four playoff contests for
the Monarchs. Legein, 23, had his best pro season in 2009-10 with
24 goals for the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms.

Winger David Meckler will embark on his sixth
season in Manchester. A fifth-round pick by the Kings back in 2006
after his lone season at Yale, Meckler has appeared in 342 games
for the Monarchs, registering 135 points. In the Monarchs all-time
regular season lists, he ranks first in career games played, first
in career shots on goal (812) and tied for second in career goals
scored (74).

Jake Muzzin, originally selected
141st overall by the Penguins in 2007, will enter his
fourth season with the organization. He established career-highs
with seven goals, 24 assists and 31 points in 2011-12. Muzzin
appeared in 11 games for Los Angeles during the 2010-11 campaign.
He made his NHL debut on Oct. 9, 2010 against the Canucks and
picked up his first NHL point six days later with an assist in a
win over Vancouver.